Alternative storage ideas – cheap and effective

When we move, we usually end up with less room than we thought. Well, no worries! You can find decent and cheap storage facilities to pack your things. Or, if you’re not up for this, you can make your own storage in your home! With our alternative storage ideas, you’ll be able to pack everything you need in your new home. Stop getting rid of things you want to keep and start storing them in a cheap and effective way!

Learn when to let go

Now, even though we’ve got storage ideas for every shape and size, you’ll still need to keep real. Don’t try to move your entire household to your new home. Not only will it increase your moving cost, but it’ll also take up a bunch of space you might use for better things. So, the first and foremost thing to do when looking for alternative storage ideas is to not hoard your things. We’d love to find a way for you to keep all your stuff, but it’s just better to get rid of some of them. It will declutter your life and make your relocation much easier. However, when you’re cleaning up to save space, you don’t need to throw everything away. There are a lot of ways you can still use the items you’d like to get rid of:

donate – all the alternative storage ideas won’t save you if you overburden your new home. Donate some fo your things to make someone else happy while helping yourself.

repurpose – transform your junk into useful items with a little repurposing. You can even gain additional storage space with a little work. Old crates can be shelves, old newspaper – decorations.

toss – finally, don’t be afraid to throw stuff away. In order to improve the free space in your new home, you’ll need to learn to let go. So, if it’s not useful, get rid of it!

Awesome alternative storage ideas

In the quest to improve your new living space, you’ll need to use what you can get! So, make sure every inch of your home is used well. Ensure there are no empty corners, that there’s something under each bed and that you use every nook and cranny for storing things. This is the only way you’ll be able to store everything you’ll need in your home!

Go vertical

The way we live made us into horizontal creatures. We perceive the world and so, our home too, in mostly two dimensions – length and width. So, we leave a lot of space unused. In order to maximize all your alternative storage ideas, you’ll need to use the vertical axis to your advantage. Stack things on top of each other to get more space. You can place your things like you would organize and pack a storage unit! This will make them more accessible.

This wall could be used for storage if you add a few shelves.

A few trunks go a long way

Utilize all your extra space! Store things in trunks and stack trunks on top of each other. Make sure you label each trunk so that you know what’s inside. This will make it much easier to browse through your items and take what you need. Apart from this, trunks can bring some sass to your room and provide storage space! You can use the space inside them to put away your winter clothes and the space on top of the trunk as a chair. All it needs is a cushion!

Fill your chests and trunks for additional storage!

Awesome DIY alternative storage ideas

There’s a huge number of things you can make yourself which will improve your storage space. Most of these are easy to build and they don’t require a lot of materials. With a hammer and some boards, you can make a lot of alternative storage space:

shelves – what are they but horizontal boards on the wall. Well, you can make any wall a shelf by applying a few boards to it. These are some of the best alternative storage ideas!

pegboard wall – pin a pegboard to one of your walls. It will allow you to create your own shelves and storage space! And the best part of it is that you can change it anytime you get bored! Just rearrange the shelves on the pegboard! You don’t even have to use nails to hang your pictures or clothes from a pegboard!

hang your things – once again the vertical comes to the rescue! If you have bulky items which take up too much floor space, you can hang them on the wall! This is especially good if you have a bike or a kayak.

stairs – use each staircase a storage unit! You can place books on one side of the stairs for an easy fix. However, if you want a solution that’s a little classier, you can make a shelf inside the staircase, or a drawer out of each stair!

Shelves are awesome as alternative storage ideas!

When not to use alternative storage ideas

Unfortunately, there are times when we shouldn’t improvise our storage solutions. If you’re storing highly valuable items, you’ll need to take extra care. Apart from this, if your items are temperature dependent, you should choose climate controlled storage unit. Saving space and money with alternative storage is good, but it won’t help you preserve special items.

Apart from this, you shouldn’t store items which are not meant to be stored. Don’t store them in alternative or regular storage since they can cause great damage to property and people. Make sure you check this list of items not allowed in storage and be prepared for your next move.

Know when you need to use a real storage unit!

Finally, there are no bad alternative storage ideas! Each home is a different story and what might have worked for your neighbor might not work for you! It’s important to know how to experiment and adapt to your own living conditions! So, just keep trying until you find the best possible solution for you!